1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disc device in which a disc such as a compact disc or a digital video disc is loaded, and more specifically, to a disc device capable of transferring the disc smoothly when it is inserted.
2. Description of the Related Art
An in-vehicle disc device typically includes an insertion slot formed on the front surface of the device and a transfer unit located inside the insertion slot. The transfer unit enables the disc to be inserted through the insertion slot and into the device. The transfer unit may utilize a roller for exerting a transporting force to the disc.
In-vehicle disc devices may also include a plurality of disc holders within the device. In this case, any one of the plurality of disc holders may be selected, and a disc may be inserted through the insertion slot, transferred by the transfer unit, and then held by the selected disc holder. Accordingly, multiple discs, up to the number of the disc holders, may be stored in the device. When a stored disc holder is selected, the disc held by the selected disc holder is played back.
Methods of actuating the transfer unit are used when the disc inserted through the insertion slot reaches the transfer unit and when an operation of selecting any one of the disc holders is made from the outside. However, these conventional methods have problems. For example, when a user holds the disc and inserts it through the insertion slot, the distal end of the disc may abut against the non-moving transfer unit. This tends to leave an abnormal feeling to the user's hand when inserting the disc.
When the user selects any one of the disc holders through the control from the outside, the transfer unit, such as the roller, continues idling after the selecting operation is made until the disc is inserted through the insertion slot. Consequently, operating noise increases.
Another disc device incorporates a sensor unit at the insertion slot so that the transfer unit, e.g. the roller, is actuated when the sensor unit detects insertion of the disc through the insertion slot. However, with this disc device, the roller of the transfer unit is actuated at a high-speed when the disc is inserted through the insertion slot. Thus, the user feels that the disc is violently retracted into the device by the transfer unit when the user inserted the disc into the insertion slot by hand.